Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday, September 23, 2011

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Drew -
You are TEN months old today. You have really seemed to become less and less of a baby this month and you are heading to really being our "big boy." We have often commented about the fact that you are getting too big for your britches. We didn't really believe people when they said how fast the first year goes, and now we do. We are only 2 months from your first birthday!

You have now (finally) decided that crawling is your favorite mode of transportation. You have always known how to do it and just kept doing your little Army crawl. All of a sudden one day you decided crawling was better! You love your new found freedom with this skill and you thoroughly enjoy chasing the dog and cats and generally going anywhere you want in the house.

You have also continued to be a pro at pulling up. In fact, you prefer to play standing up now. Nana and Opa bought you a really cool table with lights and sounds and you love to stand and play at it. You have also begun to cruise along the couch and you can transfer from one toy to another.

We enjoyed most of this month at home with you as well. What a treat to have the summers off especially now that we are Moms! We spent more time swimming, playing outside, and just enjoying being with you! At the end of the month we had to go back to work, but you enjoyed going back to daycare as you LOVE to play with the kids there!

One of your favorite "new" toys is the Cozy Coupe car. You love to sit in it and steer and press the buttons. We have to hold the door closed because you try to escape. I am sure you will love it even more next summer when you have more coordination to actually move around in it.

You took your first trip to the ocean this month. We thought we were going to just dip your toes in and that would be it. We were very wrong. You were absolutely ecstatic and you loved playing in the water and the sand. You had no fear and you would squeal when the waves were coming in. You loved splashing in the water and crawling on the sand. You even played with some big kids and they blew bubbles with you and you played in the "pool" they dug for you. We can't wait to take you to the ocean next summer after seeing how much you loved it.

You have learned to wave at people and it is the cutest thing! At first we thought you were just twirling your hands and then we realized that you were doing it at appropriate times for waving. You especially love to wave at the "handsome boy in the mirror" and your Opa when he is in the barnyard.

You are still an amazing eater and you have said good bye to baby food. You will eat anything that you can feed to yourself, you independent little soul! You continue to devour black olives! This month you have also had cottage cheese, yogurt, pork salsa pie, steak tips, sausage patties, grilled cheese, ice cream, potato salad, and a large variety of fruits and vegetables. We are in big trouble when you get bigger and really start eating! Sometimes we wonder where you put all of your food!

You sprouted teeth number 5 and 6 this month. You now have 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. It seems like you are constantly teething and it is the one thing that you have a really terrible time with. It just makes you absolutely miserable.

You absolutely LOVE going to your Nana and Opa's farm. You are constantly watching all of the animals and you especially love the roosters. That is because your Nana crows everytime they do! You reach out and touch all of the sheep and donkeys and have no fear with the animals. We got to spend a week here this month because Nana and Opa went on vacation to celebrate their 40th Anniversary. You also love your Opa's tractor. You can hear it start up from anywhere. You kick your legs and flail your whole body in excitement waiting to go for a ride. You have also learned how to work the lever to pick the bucket up and down. That is especially helpful when you and Opa are moving dirt!

Hurricane Irene blew through NH this month and we survived three days with no power. You didn't mind though, because it meant that we got to go to Nana and Opa's every night for a bath and dinner!

You have learned a few new tricks this month. You figured out how to run the windshield wipers and wash the car windows. You also figured out how to climb up on the dishwasher door when it is opened. Another great trick you learned was how to dump the dog's water bowl over. You really enjoyed playing in all of the water that dumped out! Life as we know it just gets crazier and crazier as you move more and more!

You are wearing both 9 and 12 month clothes now except for your shorts which are still 3 - 6 month because you are so skinny and you are still in size 3 diapers. You didn't have a Doctor's appointment this month, but we figure you are 19 pounds. You have definitely grown a taller this month and your face has really changed into a lot more of a little boy face.

You are our smart, inquisitive boy who loves to figure things out on his own. You don't miss a thing and you are such a copy cat. You learn so quickly and we can't believe how many new skills you learn each and every day. You love to figure out how things work and you have a wonderful sense of adventure. We had an amazing first summer with you and we are so lucky to be your Moms!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Things have been quite the whirlwind around her over the past week. Let's recap:

*Hurricane Ir.ene made her way through NH last Sunday and brought plenty of wind and rain our way. She also knocked out power on Sunday morning and we didn't have power back until late Tuesday afternoon. What a pain! Luckily my parents have a generator and we could run there to shower each day and they fed us too!

*We went back to work and Drew went back to daycare this week. Getting up and going at 5:30 in the morning is not my idea of fun! Drew loved being back and playing with the kids, but his moms missed him terribly!

*Not only did we go back to work, but I am at a new school two days a week, and MJ switched to 2nd grade. We survived our first week and we both like our new positions.

*Drew has decided to take up crawling for real instead of scooching. That makes for lots of chasing through the house!